STOP THE POUNDING HEART is balancing on the border between documentary and feature film. In the third part of his Texas trilogy (the first two parts were THE PASSAGE and LOW TIDE and featured the same families), Roberto Minervini once again films his mail characters in their everyday life: at work, during homeschooling, while they eat, during their free time which consists of BBQing, bull riding, and shooting practice. A plot is only gently implied and therefore the film unfolds like a melancholic poem. 14-year-old Sara is the eldest of 12 children from a deeply religious Christian family living in Waller, Texas and who run an organic goat farm. She looks after her younger siblings and helps out on the farm. Minervini spends a lot of time observing Sara while she carries out her farm tasks, which she does with skill but with little heart. Despite being surrounded by many cheerful people, a cloud of heaviness and isolation follows her. She is reserved and often seems to be deep in contemplation. The viewer doesn’t discover about what however one can guess. In Bible studies with her daughters, Sara’s mother asks: “Why was woman created?” Sara replies: “To help men,” but one sees skepticism in her eyes. Warily she watches a home birth. She meets Colby, the young boy from next door, an amateur bull rider training for the rodeo, and stands together with him at the fence. The love story between the two is so guarded and tender that it barely is perceptible. He looks at her, and she looks away. Any more is unthinkable but Sara is at the beginning of a journey in which she struggles to listen to her “pounding heart.” One hopes that she will listen but it is not very likely.

Hendrike Bake (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Carla MacDougall